Charlie Smith
THE UK’s only dwarf drag queen has just completed a huge weekend of performance on the Costa del Sol.
Jamie John, 30, one of the stars of hit Channel 4 show Seven Dwarves, has been entertaining in drag for a decade, including in the Canary Islands and Salou.
This time he was back in Spain for two high-octane shows at Mirror Mirror in Puerto de la Duquesa, helping raise money for Manilva Pride 2019.
After splashing the crowd with water, cartwheeling around, and heckling just about everyone, John, who is originally from Norfolk, took time out from his busy schedule to speak to the Olive Press.
“Seven dwarves was the birth of Miss DQ,” he said. “I used to watch Lily Savage, I liked the comedy aspect of it.
“The one that really started it though was DQ from Eurovision.”
DQ is a Danish drag queen played by Peter Andersen, who represented Denmark at Eurovison 2007 in Helsinki.
For his own queen persona though, John says that DQ means ‘dwarf queen’.
And although he has his inspirations, he says he is driven by his own ambition.
“I aspire to be Miss DQ, completely myself.
“I’d like to be on cruise shows.”
“Anybody can put on a dress and mime, but it doesn’t make them a drag queen”
John said he was looking forward to Manilva Pride from June 14 to 16 this year.
“For me pride is about bringing the community together.
“It’s everyone, there are no labels, that’s why it’s so important.”
John is not new to the game either and still remembers the early days of his drag performance, after leaving his local theatre and drama schools.
“My friends and family were really supportive of drag, they loved it,” he said.
“There’s always that thing about coming out.
“As a gay man, you’re going to get homophobia, but put on a dress and its different.
“Anybody can put on a dress and mime, but it doesn’t make them a drag queen.”
John does two types of shows: a lip sync performance and a live one.
His favourite things to sing are Queen and musicals – the crowd at his Manilva show were treated to a fantastic lip sync of Miss Hannigan’s Little Girls from Annie, and then even Susan Boyle’s X-Factor audition.
After parting with his agent, John has now gone solo, booking and managing his own gigs and tours, but admitted, ‘it is hard work’.
“You feel knackered, and especially with drag, you do feel like you’re going 100mph.”
He also revealed that his busy schedule is not ideal for finding love.
“You’re doing so much and you’re so busy, and I’ve not found someone who can keep up.
“One day Mr right will come along, but not yet, there has to be a ying and yang.”
When he’s not on the road, John keeps chickens, is a keen gardener and cook, his best dish being a chicken fillet wrapped in Parma Ham.
He will back in Manilva in the summer and also has a host of other appearances planned throughout the year:
Milton Keynes Pride
Edinburgh Fringe
Blackpool Pride
Halloqueen
Various pantomimes
